International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)

Volume 97 No.18, July 2014

High Efficient Seebeck Thermoelectric Device for Power

System Design and Efficiency Calculation: A Review of
Potential Household Appliances

T Stephen John
Sathyabama University
Chennai - 600119

ABSTRACT Bismuth Telluride (Bi2Te3) that is utilized for

The ever growing demand for electricity needs to be fulfilled household gadgets[10][11].
with due cognizance of the environment factor and recycling
energy as effectively as possible. This paper proposes the
2. PROPOSED SYSTEM
harnessing of the heat energy wasted in household appliances Main components of the experimental setup for proposed
all of which can generate power in milli watt range. The most system are given below.
promising equipment for the supply of waste heat which can (1) Water supply (2) pipes (3) Heat sink (4) TEG (5) Tin stand
generate power over 1 watt seems to be the gas stove, the (6) Water container (7) Gas stove (8) Cook ware (9)
experimental feasibility analysis of which is the main target of Multimeter (10) Thermometer
this paper. Technology used for this end is called TEG which
stands for Thermo Electric Generators based on the See beck 2.1 Systematic elaboration of the system and its
effect. This device makes use of the temperature gradient components
across a TEG to generate an electromotive force (emf) across
it. TEGs are increasingly in vogue due to lack of mechanical
parts, low maintenance and high durability proved in space
missions over the past decades. The focus of this paper is
rather on the creation of the highest possible temperature
difference to produce the highest possible power output.

Keywords
TEG, emf

1. INTRODUCTION
Thermoelectricity is the science of conversion of heat energy
(temperature difference) into electrical energy (See beck
effect) and vice versa (Peltier effect). These are mutually
reversible. Thermoelectric power generation is a direct
consequence of the Seebeck effect. The See beck effect is the
conversion of temperature differences into electricity by a
closed loop formed by two different metals joined in two
places, with a temperature difference between the junctions;
As the metals respond differently to the temperature
difference, a current loop and a magnetic field is being
created. Waste heat trapped from industry can be utilized in
the industry itself. Waste heat from automobile cannot be
easily trapped and utilized by us as much as the waste heat
from a burning stove is,[1][2] for household purposes.
1.1 Literature survey for existing system.
At international level the maximum efficiency for the TEGs is
10%[3]. Though the low efficiency is not a drawback for low
power generation (<W) it is the disadvantage for high power
generation[4][5]. The use of waste heat < 200 degree
Centigrade substantially increases the method of generating a
high electrical power factor (watt per unit area)[6] which is
more important than a high value of Z(A high Figure of
merit) for waste heat utilization[7][8]. Power factor is
enhanced by decreasing the inter element distance between
the legs of the thermocouple[9]. The best material for
operation in temperatures around 200 degrees celsius is
Fig. 1 The existing iron Fig.2 Tin plate placed on
stand in the gas stove the iron stand to trap the
flame heat escaping to the
surroundings.
When the cookware is placed on the iron stand, the flame
heats up the bottom of the cookware to cook the food, but a
heat from the flame also escapes around the surroundings. To
trap this heat, a Tin stand is made which heats up very fast by
trapping some of the heat escaping into the environment, thus
making use of the heat which would have been otherwise
wasted.
Tin is used because it is the cheapest metal available with a
very low specific heat capacity. Specific heat capacity (C) is
the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of unit
mass of a substance by 1 degree Celsius or Kelvin. The SI
unit of C is J/kg.K. Low value of C of a substance means that
it can get heated up very fast due to the quick increase in the
temperature. This has a direct implication as explained below:

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)
Volume 97 No.18, July 2014

Table 1. Ascending order of C of common materials unwanted because if more time is taken to cook food it will
available in the market mean more supply of gas : which will defeat the very purpose
of this paper - to utilize wasted heat energy and to minimize
Material C Drawbacks Useful Material the expenditure of gas for cooking.
(J/kg.K) ness selected
Gold 129 Very Very
costly low
Lead 129 Poisonous Very
low
Platinum 133 Very Very
costly, rare low
Tin 228 - Very Tin
high
Silver 235 Costly Low
Brass 375 High C Low
Copper 385 High C Low
Iron 449 High C Low
Aluminum 897 Very High Very
C low Fig.4 Thermoelectric device for testing (model TEC1-
12706)

As per Table 1 Tin was thus selected because of its low cost,
easy availability and very low C which allows its temperature
to rise very quickly.

2.1.1. Temperature measured on the Tin stand

Table 2. Temperature of the tin stand with (a) 3 litre
pressure cooker placed on the tin stand on (b) full flame

Position on the tin Maximum temperature measured in

stand degree Celsius
Middle 140
Edge/near the
200
flame
Fig.5 TEG placed near the edge of the tin plate
Cookware/utensil used while testing: 3 litre pressure cooker.
Base diameter of the pressure cooker: 17 cm
2.1.2 TEG used for testing:
Diameter of the circular hole on the tin plate: 17.2 cm
Most easily available and TEC -12706
cheapest commercial
TEG 3 USD (if imported from
module in India China)

385 INR (purchased online

Cost per piece
from vododara Gujarat)

Dimension 4cm*4cm*0.35cm
Number of
127
Thermocouples
Thermoelectric Material Bismuth Telluride(Bi2Te3)
Operating temperature About 200o Celsius
Fig .3 Cooker of base diameter 17 cm
Life expectancy 2,00,000 hours
The circular hole is cut out with a radius of 8.6 cm so that it is
more than the cooker radius, so that the cooker does not sit on
the tin plate but on the iron stand as it should be near the The data given here is sourced from the datasheet of the
flame(Table 2). This is necessary because if the cooker sits on respective TEG models, available online in the manufacturer
the tin plate instead of the iron stand then the distance or supplier website :
between the cooker bottom and the flame would increase and
lead to more time consumption to cook the food. This is

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)
Volume 97 No.18, July 2014

Table 3. Comparison of TEGs available commercially: Modules which can operate under temperature of 200 to 2500

Max.
Dimensions in dT in
Power Cost in
Manufacturer and Country TEG Model cm degree
output in USD
Length*breadth Celsius
watt
200 19
HZ-20 7.5*7.5 125
100 5
200 14
Hi- z Technology Inc., USA HZ-14 6.27*6.27 80
100 2.5
200 2.5
HZ-2 2.9*2.9 34
10 0.5
270 5.19
1261G-7L31-04CL 3*3 30
100 1.04
270 5.10
1261G-7L31-04CQ 4*4 50
100 1.01
270 7.15
Custom Thermoelectric, USA 1261G-7L31-05CQ 4*4 50
100 1.15
270 14.7
1261G-7L31-10CX1 5.6*5.6 79.5
100 3.24
270 19.1
1261G-7L31-24CX1 5.6*5.6 79.5
100 3.54
Thermal Electronics - 180 6.8
TEG2-07025HT-SS 4*4 33
Corp.(TEC),Canada 100 2.86
Laird Technologies, USA Therma ECSeries HT9,3,F2,2525 2.54*2.87 150 1.125 37
100 2.5
China make TEC1-12706 4*4 3
70 1.5
Where, dT - temperature difference between the two sides of Table 4. Materials in descending order of thermal
TEG conductivity: higher value means better application as
USD - US Dollars. heat sink
2.1.3 Heat Sink- the most critical component Material Thermal Conductivity in W/mK
Greater the temperature difference between the two sides of Diamond 1000
the TEG, greater is the power generated. The tin plate heats
Silver 429
up to around 200 degree Celsius. This is an almost constant
value which cannot be altered at will; so the only way to keep Copper 400
the temperature difference high is to keep the cold side as cool Gold 310
as possible. This task is accomplished by a device called Heat Aluminum 235
Sink. Tungsten 174
Zinc 116
Heat sink performance is directly proportional to the
following factors: Brass 109
Nickel 91
(a) Thermal conductivity, Iron 80
(b) Surface area of heat sink available for radiating the heat Platinum 70
fins increases the surface area. Cobalt 69
Tin 67
The cold side tends to get heated up since that the heat
absorbed by the hot side of the TEG is conducted towards the
cold side. This heat being conducted to the cold side thus
The Table 4 shows that diamond followed by silver has the
needs to be drawn away in order to keep the cold side really
highest thermal conductivity, but high cost renders them unfit
cool. This task is best accomplished by Copper heat sinks as
for use as heat sinks. Thus the next obvious choice is copper
Copper is the best in drawing away heat from bodies as it is a
followed by aluminum as gold is exorbitantly expensive.
known fact that copper is the best conductor of heat.
Among copper and aluminum, most of the applications prefer
the latter due its lesser cost, lesser weight and easy
As copper heat sinks are rarely available in the market due to
availability. Nevertheless, a hybrid of copper and aluminum
its high cost. So the wisely selected metal heat sinks will be
will be the best combination economically.
Aluminum as it is cheap, light weight and a good conductor of
heat too. Heat sinks with copper sheet attached to the Aluminum, will
definitely improve the heat drawing ability of the heat sink.
The white thermal grease applied to the spot where the TEG
is, makes the contact easier.

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)
Volume 97 No.18, July 2014

Refrigerator compressor

External surface of refrigerator compressor as heat

source at 62C,
Ambient temperature 21C- January 2014,
Barrackpore, Kolkata 700 120
TEG module used: TEC1-12706,
Heat sink used- no.3 without thermal(water)cooling

Fig.6 Heat sink 1- Fig.7 Heat sink 2 -

Aluminum 6.2 cm*8.2 cm, Output Output Power=
Aluminum 5 cm*30 cm, 8 Inference
15 fins. The least effective voltage (V) current (A) V*I (W)
fins. Better than heat sink 1
because of small surface due to greater surface area.
area. 0.70 0.43 0.30 Waste heat
from external
0.75 0.47 0.35 surface of
refrigerator
0.87 0.40 0.35 compressor
has the
1 0.38 0.38 potential to
generate
1.25 0.28 0.35 around 0.4 W.

Tablet PC

Back surface of HCL-ME Tablet PC as heat source at

Fig. 8 Heat sink 3 (Heat Fig.9 Heatsink
42C,
sink 2 + copper sheet).White compound/thermal grease/
paste like substance applied thermal paste Ambient temperature- 21C, January 2014,
on it is Thermal Grease. Barrackpore, Kolkata 700 120
TEG module used: TEC1-12706
Heat sink used- no.3 without thermal(water)cooling
2.1.4 Coolant:
Heat sink draws heat from the cold side of the TEG and gets
heated up in turn. It is therefore necessary to cool the heat Voltage Current Power=V Inference
sink to maintain the cool temperature of the cold side of the output output *I(W)
TEG. Water is the best coolant naturally available because of (mV) (mA)
its highest Specific heat capacity 4200 J/kg,K of all naturally
58 8.32 482.6
occurring substances. Water is run through the channels of the
Waste heat at the
heat sink 3. Water from a tap is relayed by a pipe whose end 59 8.32 490.9 back surface of
is sealed by plaster of Paris with 9 thin pipes. These thin pipes
tablet PCs has the
run into the channels of the heat sink. Thus the water cools the 62 8.74 542.1
potential to
heat sink maintaining a cool temperature.
65 8.74 568.1 generate power in
3. RESULT AND DISCUSSION W range only
62 8.73 541.3
Human body

Human body(left palm) as heat source at normal body

temperature of 36C, Table 5. TEG output power comparison table
Ambient temperature 32C- March 2014, Padur,
Chennai 603103. TEG 3:
TEG module used: TEC1-12706, TEG 1: TEG 2: HI-Z
TEG2-
Temp TEC1- 2,Hi-Z
Heat sink used- no.3 without thermal(water)cooling 07025HT-SS,
Difference 12706 from Technology
from TEC-
India/China Inc. USA
Voltage TEG, Canada
Current Power=
output Inference
(mV)
output(mA) V*I(W) 500C 0.7 W 0.2 W 0.66 W
50 7.2 360 Body heat 1000C 2.5 W 0.5 W 2.86 W
45 6.5 292.5 can
60 8.4 504 generate According to Table 5 the entire TEGs are suitable for
50 7.1 355 W range temperature up to 200 degree Celsius. For the paper the
60 8.6 516 of power. researcher is using TEC1-12706 because it is cheap and easily
available in India. Each piece costs INR 385 only.

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)
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Table 6 Power output measured for different configuration

Position of TEG on Thermal cooling- Voltage Current Power

Heat sink Inference
the tin plate by water output (V) output (A) output (W)
Middle position not
1.25 0.30 0.375
Middle of the plate Heat sink 2 Yes suitable, less than 1 W
1.50 0.35 0.525
generated
1.20 0.12 0.144
1.20 0.18 0.216 Heat sink 1 not suitable,
Heat sink 1 No
1.10 0.17 0.187 less than 1W generated
1.20 0.17 0.204
0.504 Thermal cooling
1.20 0.42
Heat sink 2 No 0.600 necessary, without it less
1.25 0.48
Edge of the plate than 1 W generated
(near the flame)
2.70 0.68 1.836 Heat sink 2 with thermal
Heat sink 2 Yes 2.50 0.65 1.625 cooling generates useful
2.60 0.67 1.742 power, more than 1.5 watt.

3.26 0.85 2.771 The best configuration,

Heat sink 3 Yes 3.22 0.84 2.705 Heat sink 3with thermal
3.20 0.83 2.656 cooling.

2 TEGs in series-
7.00 0.80 5.600 Emf gets added in Series
Edge of the plate Heat sink 3 Yes
7.10 0.82 5.822 connection.
(near the flame)

Thus the table makes it absolutely clear that, the best heat sink
is heat sink 3, i.e. copper and aluminum hybrid, and the best
position for TEG is near the flame at the edge of the tin plate.

Table 7. Temperature & Efficiency of the semiconductor

material pairs
Semiconductor Efficiency Temperature
Material pair [%] limit [C]
BiTe 6 300
PbTe 9 600
SiGe 11.5 1100

Of the semiconductors cited in Table 7 the BiTe is selected

for the study

Fig. 11 Semiconductor Material pair Vs Efficiency [%]

3.1 Potential application of the system

4 TEGs in series will deliver up to 12 volt DC, which is a
fairly good amount of voltage. The power delivery can be up
to 12 watt which can be used to light a bulb in the kitchen as
long as the system is put to use while the cooking takes place.

Fig.10 Semiconductor Material pair Vs Temperature

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 8887)
Volume 97 No.18, July 2014

3.2 Economic viability of the system (c) TEG : for better performance.
Table 8. Cost of the components So the proposed system is indeed economically viable as it
can generate power worth at least 4 times the cost of
ITEM Cost per No. of Net Cost installation, so a lifetime profit of minimum 300%.
unit in INR units
Pipes 11 10 110.00 5. REFERENCES
[1] A. Moser, M. Erd, M. Kostic, K. Cobry, M. Kroener, and
Aluminum heat P. Woias,Thermoelectric energy harvesting from
150 1 150.00
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Copper sheet 0.125 150 18.75
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